Just as he did on the issue of abortion — when he said he didn’t want them to be punished with a baby should they become pregnant — pro-abortion President Barack Obama waded into the debate over his mandate and Rush Limbaugh by invoking his children.
Asked a press conference today to respond to the dustup over a derogatory comment the conservative radio talk show host made about a pro-abortion activist, Sandra Fluke, who has been trumpeting Obama’s mandate to force religious employers to pay for birth control and drugs that may cause abortions, Obama brought up his children. He had been asked a question about why he called Fluke to tell her he was sorry Limbaugh made the comment.
“I thought about Malia and Sasha,” Obama said at a press conference Tuesday. “And one of the things I want them … to be able to do is speak their minds in a civil and thoughtful way, and I don’t want them attacked or called horrible names they’re being good citizens.”
“I wanted Sandra to know that her parents ought to be proud of her,” Obama continued.
“I don’t know what’s in Rush Limbaugh’s heart so I can’t comment on the sincerity of his apology,” the president said. “All decent folks can agree that the remarks that were made don’t have any place in public discourse.”
During the 2008 election campaign, then candidate Obama indicated he favored teaching both abstinence education as well as sexual education and he appeared to be hard-pressed to come up with something else to say when he brought up his daughters.
“When it comes specifically to HIV/AIDS, the most important prevention is education, which should include — which should include abstinence education and teaching the children — teaching children, you know, that sex is not something casual,” he said.
“But it should also include — it should also include other, you know, information about contraception because, look, I’ve got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old,” he added. [related]
“I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby,” Obama said
Meanwhile, pro-life Weekly Standard reporter John McCormack noticed a double standard — in that Obama commented on Limbaugh’s statement but would not condemn controversial remarks made by the woman he named as the head of the Democratic Party.
Obama was asked about Rush Limbaugh’s degrading comments about Georgetown Law student and liberal activist Sandra Fluke. Obama talked at some length about why Limbaugh’s remarks were wrong. But when he was asked if he agreed with his hand-picked DNC chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz’s comments that opponents of the mandate are waging a “war on women,” Obama declined to comment.
“Would you prefer the language be changed?” CNN’s Jessica Yellin asked.
“Jessica, as you know, if I start being in the business arbitrating–”
“You talk about civility,” Yellin interjected.
“And what I do is practice it,” Obama replied. “I’ll try to lead by example as opposed to commenting on every comment that is made by either politicians or pundits, I would not have time to do my job, that is your job to comment on what is said by them.”
Of course, moments earlier Obama had taken the liberty to comment on a radio talk show host’s comments.
In other words, if Rush Limbaugh says something nasty, Obama’s got your back. If DNC chair Debbie-Wasserman Schultz says all pro-lifers and supporters of religious liberty are waging a war on women–which implies that female pro-lifers are self-hating women–Obama says he can’t be expected to speak up.
